


Varsity Letter Jackets

by isnt_that_wizard



Series: We'll Always Be More Than A Band (JATP) [17]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Bisexual Panic, Canon Compliant, Crushes, Fluff, Gay Panic, Getting Together, I love them both, M/M, Nick is a Danforth-Evans, No Angst, Original Character(s), Pretty Lacrosse Boy, Sharing Clothes, accidental clothes sharing, and drum line kid, they are based on ryan mcewan and sam scherzer's background characters, tyler and dylan are made up but also not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:48:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28823982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isnt_that_wizard/pseuds/isnt_that_wizard
Summary: "Since when do you have a music patch on your jacket?" Dylan said, staring at Tyler's sleeve.Tyler frowned, "What are you talking about, I don't have a-"But sure enough, as he looked down at the sleeve of his letter jacket, he saw the academic patch at the top, a lacrosse one second, and a large music note patch right where his dance one usually was. The sleeve of the jacket was also missing the patch he'd gotten for his letter in art.----------In an attempt to not make a fool of himself in front of his year-long crush Nick, Tyler rushes out of lacrosse practice. Unfortunately for him, he makes a mistake as he does so. It isn’t until his step-brother Dylan points out that the clothes Tyler’s wearing aren’t exactly all his that he realizes the mistake.orThe self indulgent sequel to Slow On The Uptake about Nick and an extra that now own my entire heart <3
Relationships: Nick (Julie and The Phantoms)/Original Character(s), Nick (Julie and the Phantoms)/Tyler Doyle
Series: We'll Always Be More Than A Band (JATP) [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956307
Comments: 35
Kudos: 106





	Varsity Letter Jackets

**Author's Note:**

> CLARIFICATIONS:  
> Once again, I just want to let everyone know that even though his is tagged original characters, Tyler and Dylan are based off characters from the show! Ryan McEwan, who plays one of the back up dancers/lacrosse players (he can be seen in I Got The Music, standing next to coach Barron when the lacrosse team comes into Julie's dance class, and giving Nick a bro hug after Perfect Harmony) was the basis for Tyler! And Sam Scherzer's character, the drumline member who Julie steals the drumsticks off of in I Got The Music, is the basis for Dylan!

Tyler had been quick to get out of practice today. It had been about three weeks since Nick had recovered from his concussion, and Tyler was pretty sure all he'd managed to do in that time was make a fool out of himself when seeing Nick in person. Everything was just throwing him off. Since that day Tyler had brought Nick his homework, Nick had been talking to him more. At first Tyler had thought maybe it was a thank you of sorts, but Nick had kept talking to him for longer than just a thank you would have allowed. They were walking between classes together, sometimes sitting next to each other at lunch, and almost every practice, their bags and waters had ended up right next to each other, so they were constantly chatting during breaks. It was. . . weird, kind of. Tyler had gone from hopelessly gazing at Nick from afar, to driving him to urgent care, and now they were. . . friends? He thinks? They've been spending a lot of time talking lately to not be friends. 

And it's great! Really, really great!

But with every interaction, Tyler can't help but find a reason to bury his face in his hands and wish the ground would swallow him down. With every blush, or stutter, or awkward sentence, Tyler can see one of their teammates, Kayla, or god forbid Dylan staring at him with a confused look that read  _ "what's wrong with you, you never act like this".  _

It's so much easier when he and Nick are texting each other- which is basically every afternoon now, Tyler finds delight in- because it means Nick can't see the fact that his face is bright red, that it takes him at least three minutes to formulate responses, or that he just screamed into a pillow because hearing Nick talk about his little sister is freaking adorable. Tyler can pretend that he at least has some dignity over text. And it doesn't help that Nick keeps smiling at him, and brushing their shoulders together when they walk, and watching him with this look Tyler doesn't know how to read. It also doesn't help that now that they're actually friends and talking, Tyler has started noticing and learning so many more things about Nick. 

He's noticed that when Nick laughs, his eyes get this sparkle to them that makes it hard to look away. Tyler learned that Nick started playing guitar when he was only eight, and that his first electric guitar was a birthday gift he'd received from his aunt when he was 13- it was a bubblegum pink color that matched Carrie's Dirty Candy wig, and it was Nick's favorite guitar he owned. He noticed that when Nick was embarrassed or blushing, he'd duck his head down and laugh under his breath a little. He learned that Nick thought it was really, really cool that Tyler had joined the dance team after the lacrosse team had gotten put in Ms Kelly's dance class because it turns out Tyler loved dance, and he learned that Carrie and Kayla both think he's really good. Tyler noticed that if he were to hug Nick, he'd only have to reach up a little bit to rest his chin on top of Nick's head. He learned that Nick was even sweeter and kinder than he'd thought. 

Tyler noticed that he was way more gone for this boy than he'd thought. 

Tyler wasn't quite sure what to do with any of that information. All he did know was that if Nick kept making eye contact with him and smiling at him and complimenting him, he was gonna do something stupid. Like kiss him. Which is exactly why Tyler had practically ran out of practice today. 

They'd been dismissed for the showers once practice was done, and as was becoming usual, Nick's and his things ended up right next to each other in the locker room, sitting almost mixed together on a bench. Tyler had already changed and was getting his things together when Nick had rounded the corner, dressed in a pair of joggers and no shirt, running his towel through his hair. Tyler felt himself freeze a little, casting his eyes away and covering the strange, choked off noise he'd made in the back of this throat with a cough.

Fuck, fuck,  _ fuck _ , this wasn't fair. 

He and Nick had shared a locker room for almost three years now, this really shouldn't be a big deal. Tyler busied himself by pointlessly rearranging his bag. 

"Hey, I know Coach was getting on your case out there, but he was wrong. You were doing great," Nick told him as he pulled a shirt on over his head. 

Tyler glanced up at him and it took everything in him to ignore noticing the way the water darkened Nick's blond hair, the way his skin was tinged pink from the warm water, or the way his arms naturally flexed as he moved things around on the bench. Tyler was so used to focusing on the fact that Nick was cute, and Nick was pretty, that sometimes he forgot that oh shit, Nick was  _ hot _ , too.

"Oh, um- thanks."

Nick smiled at him, and that's what had Tyler breaking. He couldn't handle Nick looking like that, smiling at him, and complimenting him. Nope. Today was not going to be the day he did something stupid. 

Tyler pushed himself up from where he'd been sitting on the bench, blindly and frantically grabbing his bag and letter jacket as he did so. He threw the jacket on, gripping his bag tightly as he stuttered his way through a goodbye. 

"Right. Okay, I have to, um- I should, uh- get home. I'll text you later, Nick."

He didn't wait for a response from Nick, just waved to him and made his way swiftly out of the locker room. It wasn't until he was safely alone in his car that he let out the breath he'd been holding, making a high pitched noise as he did so. 

"Fuck, fuck, fuck. You couldn't control your gay panic for five minutes, Tyler? Come on," he grumbled to himself. It was getting to be a habit, him reprimanding himself out loud in his car after embarrassing himself in front of Nick. Maybe if he learned how to get his shit together, there would be less embarrassment. Unrealistic, he knew, but Tyler could dream. 

He let the music on the radio drown out his thoughts on the drive home, and by the time he'd reached the house, Tyler was pretty sure he'd recovered from the blush he knew had been on his face when he'd left the locker room. Hopefully it was, at least. If it wasn't, Dylan would certainly call him on it as soon as he walked in the door. 

"Hey, I'm home!" Tyler called as he entered the house. The door was unlocked; Dylan got home before he did and never remembered to lock the door behind him. It irked their parents to no end. 

"It's just me!" he heard Dylan call out, and followed the direction of his step-brother's voice. "Mom's still at work, and dad ran to the store because he bought the wrong pasta for dinner."

"Why does it matter what kind of pasta it is," Tyler inquired, causing Dylan to roll his eyes. 

"Because my father's a lunatic, and 'the recipe says bow ties'", Dylan finished in an exaggerated imitation of their father's voice that had Tyler smiling. 

Tyler's parents had divorced when he was five, and his mother had remarried Dylan's dad when he was seven. Dylan was a year younger than him, in the same grade as Nick. Both Tyler's biological father and Dylan's biological mother were out of the picture, not that either teenager minded. Half the time they forget that they were technically step-brothers. As far as they were concerned, they had the exact same parents, and the four of them were a family through and through. It helped that Tyler had always been pretty close with Dylan. Because of their close ages, they'd become friends before they'd become brothers, and the friendship hadn't gone away. 

"The shells would have worked the exact same way," Tyler shook his head. "It's just pasta."

Dylan raised his eyebrows. "Feel free to tell dad that when he gets back, I'm sure he'd be glad to give you the same five minute lecture I got on how recipes are written a certain way for a reason." 

Tyler just laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, no thanks. I've got homework."

Dylan nodded, but tilted his head at Tyler, narrowing his eyes. Tyler stood under his brother's scrutiny for a minute, confused. 

"What?"

"Since when do you have a music patch on your jacket?" Dylan said, staring at Tyler's sleeve. 

Tyler frowned, "What are you talking about, I don't have a-"

But sure enough, as he looked down at the sleeve of his letter jacket, he saw the academic patch at the top, a lacrosse one second, and a large music note patch right where his dance one usually was. The sleeve of the jacket was also missing the patch he'd gotten for his letter in art. 

He heard Dylan give a snort from his spot on the couch, "And since when is your last name Danforth-Evans?"

Tyler felt his face go hot immediately. He frantically smoothed out the fabric of the letter jacket, focused on the embroidered last name across the chest. 

_ "Danforth-Evans" _ laid there, in swoopy cursive letters, emboldened for the entire world to see. 

"Oh my god," Tyler breathed out, feeling his heart rate spiking. "Oh fuck." 

He could feel Dylan's amused gaze on him as he silently panicked. 

"Dylan, this isn't my jacket."

"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock. Did you finally wise up and ask Nick out, then?"

Tyler let out a panicked groan, his eyes still trained on the last name that wasn't his. "No, Dylan, you don't underst- we were at practice and coach called me out and- Nick was- the fucking showers and- Fuck, man, this isn't my jacket!"

Dylan had stood up, coming over to him with his hands raised. "Woah, hey, calm down! It's fine, bro. It was an honest mistake, just text Nick and tell him you accidentally grabbed his jacket." 

Tyler stared at his brother. "Yeah, sure. That's a great plan. 'Oh hey Nick. Accidentally took your jacket and despite the fact that we wear a different size and it smells like you, it took me half an hour to notice! Oh, and did I mention that the reason I took your jacket was because I got distracted when you were shirtless?' Yeah, Dylan, that'll go over great! Not gonna make me sound like a creep at all!"

"Okay, first off, don't word it like that, dumbass. Second, he's not gonna think you're a creep. He's gonna think you made a mistake. Which you did."

Tyler groaned, running his hand through his hair. How could he have let this happen? Of all the embarrassing things in his life, this is going to be the one to top it all. He got so distracted by trying to keep himself together that he'd inadvertently stolen from Nick. Great. Best possible way to make an impression on the man you were falling for.

"I want to die," Tyler mumbled. The worst part? He really didn't want to take the jacket off. It was comfortable, a little more snug than his own, and like he's said, it smelled like Nick. There was a vanilla smell that followed Nick around, warm and comforting. The jacket felt like the hug he'd been wanting from Nick for a while now. He forced himself to pull it off anyway, keeping a tight grip on it. 

"It's not as bad as you think it is," Dylan said placatingly. "You're just freaking out. I promise if you just talk to Nick, it'll be fine."

Tyler just smiled tightly at his brother, walking out of the room and shutting himself in his bedroom upstairs. He set Nick's jacket down beside him gently, fishing his phone out of his pocket. 

_ Just text him, it'll be fine. It'll be embarrassing and awkward but the sooner you do it, the sooner you can move past it. It'll be fine. _

"Ugh, okay. This is stupid. It's just a jacket," Tyler said out loud, looking down at his phone. A series of text notifications were waiting for him, all from Nick, just a few minutes ago.

_ Hey man I think we accidentally  _

_ grabbed each other's jackets?? _

_ Honestly I didn't even notice until I was  _

_ putting it in the closet and my dad said something _

_ Probably should have noticed the dance  _

_ and art patches I didn't earn _

_ Which are really cool btw _

_ Anyway _

_ I have your letter jacket _

Tyler almost had to set down his phone and reset. So Nick hadn't even realized? He'd done the same thing Tyler had? 

He wasn't sure if that made it better or worse. Better because it was way less embarrassing that neither of them realized. Worse because now Tyler couldn't stop the image of Nick wearing his letter jacket from taking over his brain. Nick had worn his jacket. Tyler’s was a size bigger than Nick’s, which meant it would have looked a little baggy on the other boy. The sleeves were almost definitely too long for Nick. He’d probably looked adorable. Tyler's hands shook ever so slightly as he types out a response. 

_ haha yeah i have your jacket too _

_ i guess i grabbed the wrong one  _

_ when i left after practice _

_ sorry _

_ No worries man _

_ We can just switch back tomorrow  _

_ morning at school _

Good. That was good, right? A quick and easy solution, and Tyler had overreacting for nothing. It’s not like he just couldn’t give the jacket back, no matter how comfortable and nice it had felt to be wearing it. He wasn’t Nick’s boyfriend. So he would go to school tomorrow, switch out the jackets with Nick, and then pretend that none of this had ever happened. He couldn’t help but think about what Nick must have thought when he realized they’d switched jackets. He’d said no worries, but did he mean it? Had he been annoyed? Thought it was weird? Was he just being nice about it? 

Tyler sighed loudly, leaning back until he landed with a thud as he laid on the bed. He reached out for his pillow, meaning to throw it over his face. Instead, he was hit with the scent of vanilla as his vision went dark. He’d grabbed Nick’s jacket instead of his pillow. Of course he had. Tyler pulled it off his face, but didn’t move it from where it was now tossed over his chest. He gripped the red fabric in his hand, staring up at his ceiling. 

He’d had crushes on people before, he’d been out on dates before. But nothing he’d felt was quite like this thing about Nick. Tyler had always been a pretty confident, smooth guy and he never had a hard time talking to new people. He was a starting player on their varsity lacrosse team, and one of three guys on the dance team. He was the kind of kid parents liked to introduce to their friends if they wanted to impress them. You’d never be able to guess that if you watched a single interaction he had with Nick, and Tyler knew it. He tripped over his words, his heartbeat couldn’t seem to slow down, and it was almost impossible for him to stop smiling when he was around Nick. He was sure this was past crush territory at this point. Nick was just. . . special. And even though he had no idea if Nick would ever think of him the same way and certainly wouldn’t blame him if he never did, he was sure that these feelings wouldn’t be going away any time soon. Tyler took a deep breath in, taking in the vanilla smell from the jacket, and let out a sigh. God, he was so far gone for this boy, wasn’t he?

\----------

Tyler was nervous to see Nick this morning. He was worried that it would be awkward and leave him a flustered mess, when really all it needed to be was “here’s your jacket I accidentally took, sorry” and switch them back. It was stupid to be nervous about this. 

Nick had beat him to school that day, and when Tyler got to his locker, Nick was leaning against the one next to it, scrolling through his phone with Tyler’s letter jacket thrown over his arm. Nick was tapping his foot at a quick pace as he waited, and even from feet away, Tyler could see the way Nick was biting his lip. As always, Nick looked good. He was wearing a green shirt with a navy bomber jacket over it. Tyler readjusted Nick’s jacket in his hands, taking a deep breath as he finished the walk to his locker. Nick looked up as Tyler approached, meeting his eyes with a smile that had Tyler’s stomach doing flips. He felt his lips move into a smile in return, giving a little wave. 

“Hey,” he let out, stopping in front of his locker. 

“Hi,” Nick responded.

For a moment, they just stared at each other. Tyler was the one to break the eye contact, taking a subconscious half-step back from Nick. He didn’t really register how Nick’s posture dropped a little as he did, looking down to the jacket in his arms instead. He held it out to Nick sheepishly. 

“Here’s your letter jacket. I’m sorry for taking it yesterday, I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”

Nick smiled, shaking his head, “No, it’s okay. Like I said, I didn’t even notice. I was putting it in the closet and my dad asked if I had joined dance team and art club without telling them.”

Tyler laughed a little, “Yeah, Dylan pretty much did the same thing when he saw there was a music patch on your jacket.”

Nick took the outstretched jacket, holding out Tyler’s to him as he bit his lip.

“I’m, uh. . .” Nick said, looking sheepish. “I almost don’t want to give it back. Pretty sure it’s more comfortable than mine.”

Tyler gripped the jacket loosely, feeling like his head was going to beat right out of his chest. He felt the heat in his cheeks rise. 

“Oh,” he let out quietly, almost handing the jacket right back over. “I, um. Thought the same thing about yours, too, actually.”

“Oh,” Nick repeated, eyes casting downward. Tyler thought maybe he could see a hint of a smile on Nick’s face, but it was hard to see with how he ducked his chin down and laughed under his breath a little. For a moment, Tyler thought that might be the end of the conversation. Silence fell between them, just stood awkwardly next to each other with the right letter jackets in their hands and sheepish looks on their faces. After a minute or so, though, Tyler heard Nick suck in a sharp, shaky sounding breath. 

“So, Tyler. . .” Nick started, keeping his eyes trained on the jacket in his hands, gripping and twisting the fabric a bit. “I was- well, I was wondering. . .”

Tyler was sure his heart was literally going to beat out of his chest as Nick met his eyes. Nick looked nervous but determined. 

“Do you want to go on a date? With me?”

Every thought in Tyler’s head evaporated, and he stood in the hallway gaping at Nick. The jacket almost slipped through his fingers as he took heavier breaths, mouth falling open. 

“What?” he squeaked out after what seemed like an eternity. 

Nick’s entire face went red at the question, and he cast his eyes downward again, the grip on his jacket getting tighter. He took a step back from Tyler.

“Oh,” Nick said, quietly. “Sorry, I just- I thought that maybe you- sorry. Forget I asked?”

“No!” Tyler practically shouted in the hallway, causing a few other students to look at them. Nick looked back up at him, surprised at the outburst. The saddened look in Nick’s eyes had Tyler’s brain resetting, a jumble of thoughts filling his head. All of them focused on Nick: he never wanted to see Nick look sad again, awe at the realization of what Nick had said, holy fuck is this really happening, say something you idiot, oh my god Nick just asked me out, holy fuck, Tyler you have to freaking respond-

“Sorry,” Tyler started, “I just- you want to go on a date with me?”

Nick blushed a little harder, a small smile on his face. “Um, yeah? You’re really cute and nice, and you make me smile a lot, and I’ve been trying to flirt with you for three weeks now but I really suck at it so Carrie’s been making fun of me non stop, but Kayla said I just need to go for it- And I’m just gonna stop talking now.”

Tyler couldn’t have stopped the smile on his face even if he wanted to. He felt the blush in his cheeks and knew he had a dopey look on his face, but he didn’t have it in him to care. Nick Danforth-Evans had just asked him out. Nick liked him. Nick had been flirting with him, and Tyler made him smile, and Nick thought he was cute. Part of him thought this almost had to be a dream. 

“Ask me again,” Tyler said, a strange bout of confidence hitting him as he watched Nick. 

“Huh?”

“Ask me again. I promise I’ll give an actual answer this time.”

Nick smiled at him at that, huffing out a laugh. “Yeah? Okay. Um. Tyler, do you want to go on a date with me?”

Tyler felt his smile get wider, and he nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d love to.”

Nick’s smile was wide and bright, practically blinding Tyler. God, he was so cute. “Really?”

“Yes. Definitely.”

Nick took a step closer to Tyler, but before they could say any more, the warning bell for homeroom rang out through the school. Nick’s shoulders deflated at the sound. 

“Shit,” he mumbled, and Tyler couldn’t help the small giggle that escaped him. “My homeroom’s on the other side of the school, I gotta-”

Tyler nodded, disappointed that they couldn’t talk longer, “Yeah. Go.”

Nick smiled again, “I’ll see you at lunch, Tyler.”

Tyler nodded again, waving goodbye to Nick. Nick waved back, his cheeks tinted beautifully pink. Tyler was practically floating on a cloud as he quickly sorted through his locker and made his way to homeroom, sitting down just before the bell rang. He was still holding his letter jacket in his hands as he sat, and moved to slip it over his arms and shoulders. As he did, he couldn’t help but notice the faint scent of vanilla that came with it. Tyler smiled, pulling the jacket further around him. 

_ Holy fuck _ , he thought, not able to focus on a single thing his teacher was saying.  _ I’m going on a date with Nick.  _

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed!! I'm really proud of this one, and I think it's pretty cute. Tyler and Nick pretty much own my life nowadays. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone for all the kind support I got on the first one; I really appreciate it!! Also, please vote on a ship name for me: Nyler or Tick? Or something else?
> 
> Like the last one, this is crossposted to tumblr @skateboardtotheheart, where there is the fics and some bonus content (such as my love @zendrella posting the twitter au we created)!!
> 
> Thank you all for reading <3


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